God made dirt and dirt don't hurt

My children love looking for worms,

standing barefoot in the mud,

digging in the flower beds,

and just getting dirty.

I don't think our bath water has been any shade besides brown for the past few weeks! This is the last week of school for Grayson (EC is still in the toddler class at their Montessori school and they go until the end of June) and we couldn't be more ready for SUMMER! Bring on the dirt and worms!

Life

Life has gotten in the way of blogging lately. Last week was a rough week, but I'm so, so happy to say that everything turned out well. God is so good. I'll start at the beginning...

A couple of weeks ago, I took Whitt to his 9 month well visit (a month late, he's now 10 1/2 months old, but with your 3rd baby you're lucky if you even remember to schedule these things, let alone show up to them within a few weeks of the child's birthday) and our pediatrician was concerned about a few things. I've mentioned on the blog before that Whitt is developmentally delayed, and he's still pretty significantly delayed. The things that the pediatrician were concerned about would not normally matter in a "normal" (I hate that word) baby, but she was a little worried that they might be causing his delays so she said that she wanted to call and consult a pediatric neurologist at MUSC and see what he thought. She told me not to worry about it, it was probably nothing, so I didn't even mention it to Ben. The next day, I received a phone call from her saying that he wanted us to have blood work done on Whitt and get him in for a brain MRI the following week just to make sure that there weren't any neurological issues that were causing his delays---which, of course, caused us to freak out just a bit. I spent the next four days crying, praying, and basically worrying about all of the million things that could be wrong with our sweet, amazing little boy. Last Tuesday, Ben and I took Whitt to MUSC in Charleston and had to have him sedated for a brain MRI---not fun at all. Looking back, and knowing now that everything is fine, it wasn't that big of a deal, but at the time it was horrible. Lots of tears were shed and my heart was broken into a million pieces that day seeing him laying on that table sedated and worrying about all of the what if's. I love our pediatrician so much and am very thankful that she wanted to be sure that everything is okay, but she sure put us through the ringer! A few days later we got the results that Whitt's blood work and MRI came back perfectly normal, and although he is still delayed, there is no cause for the delays and we are to keep doing what we're doing and he doesn't need to be seen again until his one-year check-up. PHEW!!!! :)

Whitt is doing GREAT!!! He is currently in occupational therapy two mornings a week for an hour each, physical therapy two mornings a week for an hour each, and early intervention one morning a week for 30 minutes. I also do therapy with him at home in the afternoons, so his schedule is quite crazy, but it's so worth it. He has made huge improvements over the past few months. He's now sitting up on his own very well and can spin around in circles. He can't get into a sitting position on his own yet, but that will come with time. He is starting to be able to scoot around on his bottom and although his therapists want me to discourage that, I think it's pretty cute--he has to get around somehow, right? :) He can almost roll from his back to his tummy--he is SO close--and he can roll from tummy to back really well. We are really hopeful that he will be crawling by the time he's 12 or 13 months old, too. Whitt has the sweetest disposition---he is such a happy, easygoing baby. He is a great sleeper, too---he takes a long morning nap, a long afternoon nap, an occasional late-afternoon nap, and then sleeps 7-7 every night. At the same time, if he has to skip a nap he usually doesn't seem to mind--he just goes with the flow--but I guess he doesn't really have a choice! Such a sweet boy! :)

Oh, but there's more to our crazy life! Two days after Whitt's MRI (last Thursday), our sweet Emma Claire had her tonsils and adenoids taken out. She has had strep throat four times in the past five months so we really didn't have much of a choice. She has been a trooper, but it's been a bit of a rough road for our little drama queen. My awesome mother-in-law came to help out for several days, thank goodness, because EC decided she ONLY wanted her Gee Gee. She must have been mad at Ben and me because Nancy did pretty much all of Emma Claire's care for the first three days after her surgery. We're now on day 6 and she's still in pain but she's starting to feel a little better each day, and we're really looking forward to no more strep throat.

Since things always come in 3's there had to be something else, right? Yep! Last Wednesday, the day after the MRI and the day before the tonsil surgery, Grayson fell and split his chin open. A total freak accident---my mother-in-law had literally been at our house for maybe 10-15 minutes and I was doing dishes while on the phone with the surgery center answering their health questions about EC....Grayson was eating apples at the kitchen table, and MIL had EC, Whitt, and the little girl I babysit all sitting on her lap (other baby I babysit was upstairs screaming because he had just woken up)....all of a sudden I hear a chair topple over and Grayson screaming. I turn around to see Grayson on the floor and blood. I quickly hang up the phone and grab some paper towels. I don't do well when I see lots of blood coming from my children and I think I started to freak out a bit, but thankfully my mother-in-law is the calmest person on the planet and gave me a look that basically told me to get it together so I did (thanks, Nancy!!) so I left four children with her and threw Grayson in the car and raced off to the pediatrician. :) When we got there, the nurse practitioner told us that he needed stitches, but when the pediatrician came in Grayson was still hysterical so she decided she'd glue it instead---praise the Lord! My nerves were still shot from everything we'd been dealing with with Whitt, Ben was out of town that day, and I was wondering how I was going to handle my hysterical 4 year old with a gaping cut on his chin who needed stitches. Ten minutes later, some Dermabond glue, steri strips and a popsicle, and we were on our way home. Piece of cake! Ha!! He's fine now--it's healed quite nicely, besides the reaction he got from the darn Bandaid! :)

And now, for some fun pictures with no dramatic stories! God is good---we have healthy, happy children, and wonderful friends who we love so much. Our best friends are moving away this summer (only an hour and a half away, but I still am going to miss sweet moments like this, which I'm sure won't happen nearly enough anymore). :(

Gorgeous Tyler

Cutie pie Gibson

Silly Sanders

I think these might be some of my favorite pictures we've ever taken of these children. I can't wait for Whitt to be able to join them! Only a few more months, I'm sure!

Swagger Wagon

I don't have a swagger wagon (sorry, minivan moms, I just can't do it), but this video is awesome!!!! Love it!! :)

Holiday-lover

So Grayson is my little holiday-lover (and Cheerios-lover, as seen on his shirt). He loves any kind of holiday, so this time of year thrills him. First, there was Valentine's Day. We heard "Happy Valentine's Day!" for weeks. Then it was my birthday, followed by St. Patrick's Day. Easter came shortly afterward. Next up, Ben's birthday. A few days ago was Earth Day. Oh, how Grayson loved Earth Day. He wished us a "Happy Earth Day" fifty times at least that day. That afternoon he came down with a yucky throat virus and ended up spending the night in our bed with a high fever. Yesterday morning, he woke up and the first thing out of his mouth was, "Happy Earth Day!". When I told him that it wasn't Earth Day anymore, his face fell and his response: "well, just because it's not Earth Day anymore doesn't mean that we can't pick up trash, right?". Oh, how I love this kid!!! :)

Princess Emma

...has all of a sudden gotten into dressing up and I am loving it. She is also totally into monster trucks, but I'll take every bit of princess that I can get! :)

Top 10 baby faves

I've had several friends give birth in recent weeks, so babies have been on the brain lately, so I thought it would be fun to do a top ten post. These are in no particular order, and I'm not being compensated in any way by any of these companies (hey, but if anybody feels like compensating me, feel free to!). :)

1. Homedics Soundspa Lullaby sound machine. We have always used sound machines with our kiddos, but the ones we used with Grayson and EC weren't very loud so I decided to try a different one with Whitt. I love this thing---it is LOUD, drowns out the noise from the other children, and has a cute projector that shines a little scene onto the ceiling for the baby to watch. The only downside is that the projector is supposed to rotate the scene on the ceiling, and the projector stopped rotating on the second day we owned it, but it hasn't been a big deal. We turn the projector at night to use as sort of a night light, and use the sound machine portion during naps and at night.

2. Green Sprouts stacking cups set Stacking cups are always a perfect baby toy, and I love this brand in particular because they are PVC, phthalate, BPA-free and made from eco-friendly materials. Stacking cups probably rank in my top three baby toys of all time---you can grab a couple when you're on the go, they can be used in the bath, babies love to chew on them, stack them, bang them...the possibilities are endless. At less than $6, these are a great gift as well!

3. Shopping cart cover. I cannot live without this thing. This isn't the one I have for Whitt, but it looks just like the one I had for Emma Claire....in fact, I'm trying to sell hers if you are interested! :) I love shopping cart covers mostly because they keep baby's hands and mouth off of that nasty shopping cart---who knows what gross germs are all over that thing?? It also provides a comfy place for baby to sit and an extra buckle when baby is still learning to sit up. I got Whitt's cart cover from Paisley Pineapple on Etsy---her products are adorable, and I highly suggest you go check her out! :)

4. Aden and Anais muslin baby blankets. There's not a whole lot to say about these blankets except that they are pretty much perfect. They're the perfect size, the perfect weight, and you can use them for everything. You can swaddle with them, use as a nursing cover, lay on the ground to put baby on top of, cover baby up in the car seat or stroller, play peek-a-boo, the list goes on..... We live in a fairly warm climate and I love that the the muslin keeps the baby warm but doesn't make the baby too warm, if that makes sense. I give these blankets as a baby gift all the time, and believe that you can never have too many Aden and Anais---AND I recently heard that Target now sells them!

5. Miracle Blanket. Oh, Miracle Blanket, I probably couldn't have survived the past four and a half years and kept my sanity without you. All three of my children had to be swaddled, and when I say "had to", I mean they could not fall asleep or stay asleep without being in the Miracle Blanket. We were hardcore swaddlers---so hardcore that poor Grayson was in the "straight jacket" as more than one of our friends/family members called it, until he was 9 months old, and Emma Claire and Whitt were in it until they were 6 months old. We were judged like crazy, but the Miracle Blanket was a lifesaver with all three children and it was our #1 baby product all three times. Love, love, love this thing, and if you have a child who likes to be swaddled, I promise you will love it as much as we did.

6. Fisher Price Papasan Swing. I'm pretty sure everybody who has a baby these days has this swing so I won't say much about it because if you have a baby you already know how awesome this swing is, but it most definitely rocks my world. EC and Whitt both slept in it more than they did the bassinet (while swaddled in the Miracle Blanket, of course!) in their first few months. The side-by-side swinging motion puts babies right to sleep---Fisher Price knew what they were doing when they invented this puppy!

7. Britax Marathon convertible car seat. One of the safest car seats on the market, super-comfy, and so easy to install/uninstall. I love that it rear-faces up to 35 pounds and forward-faces up to 65 pounds. The LATCH system is super-easy to use as well. I'm a car seat nazi and have a car seat safety post brewing in my head....stay tuned for that sometime soon. I know you all are on the edge of your seats for that one! :)

8. Summer Infant handheld video monitor. Love this thing so much that we have two--one in Whitt's room and one in Emma Claire's room. The customer service for Summer is great, too. I had an incident a couple of years ago where the screen broke (user error, not because of a faulty product), and all I had to do was call the company and they immediately sent me a new one along with a prepaid box for the broken one. I recommend this to all new moms---I've had a regular monitor without the video and this is absolutely worth the extra money!

9. Mustela Dermo-Cleansing and Baby Shampoo. Mustela is my all-time favorite baby wash and shampoo....it smells soooooo good!! The lotion is a little strong so I use the wash and shampoo, and then an unscented Aveeno lotion on Whitt. There is nothing like a freshly washed baby...YUM!!

10. Lastly, my Baby Jogger City Series Double stroller is probably in my top three of my favorites (remember this list isn't in any kind of order). I love that it's narrow enough to fit through doorways, it can handle bumpy terrain, the seats recline, the shade comes way down to block the sun, there are plenty of vents in the sides and in the shades, the handlebar is adjustable for this tall mama (not a lot of strollers work for tall parents!), and it's easy to maneuver. I have used it several times a week for almost three years and it's still in great condition. It was definitely a splurge but it's gotten so much use that it was definitely worth splurging for.

And there you have it! Next up will be the top five things that were a waste of money.... :)

Cute giveaway!

Be sure to check out my friend Jen's blog, I'm a NOLA Girl, for a really cute giveaway today (and more every day this week)!

Fun with friends

Our friends the Hogans came for a visit a couple of weeks ago. They were our neighbors a few years ago when Grayson, Sanders, and Henry were babies, and then they moved away to Maryland (sniff, sniff...) but thankfully we've stayed close friends and have managed to get together a few times a year despite the distance between us. Our children are literally days apart in age and always have a blast together, and this time was no different. Gretchen is expecting their third baby in July, and we can't wait to find out if Whitt will have a new best friend or girlfriend! Here are a few of the millions of pictures I took while they were here....

Grayson being silly in the park...

Ruby and Emma Claire

future model? :)

The whole gang, minus Whitt: Gibson, EC, Ruby, Sanders, Grayson, Henry, and Tyler...

...and then Whitt joined them for a picture but Henry wasn't interested. :)

My monkeys on Easter morning

Best buds Grayson and Henry at the playground

We love you, Hogies, and had the best time with you. We can't wait to meet the newest little Hogan, and know that he or she will fit right in with our crazy little crowd! :)

Healthy again!

Everybody in our house is happy and healthy again, and the streak of bad luck has disappeared (thank goodness!). We had a wonderful spring break and Easter, which we enjoyed with some fabulous friends who spent a few days with us from Maryland. Another post with more pictures coming shortly---I just wanted to update with a happier post....that doom and gloom post was getting a little old! :)